by Antonella Macerollo
The European Basal Ganglia Club is a traditional appointment at the annual EAN conference to receive updates about therapies and management strategies of Parkinson’s Disease.
This year, Prof. Ferreira from Lisbon was the main speaker to present the MDS-ES C. David Marsden Award lecture. He gave a broad overview of the current roles of clinical trials in movement disorders with a particular focus on motor complications in Parkinson’s Disease. He spoke about the biological association of gait, cognition, behaviour and other axial symptoms and the available pharmacological treatments to improve these symptoms.
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The Dystonia Europe – David Marsden Award lecture was given by Dr Susanne Knorr from Germany this year. She was the second speaker of the workshop speaking about her award-winning paper ‘The evolution of dystonia-like movements in TOR1A rats after transient nerve injury is accompanied by dopaminergic dysregulation and abnormal oscillatory activity of a central motor network.’ Dr Knorr’s study provided a new DYT-TOR1A rodent model forming the foundation for further analysis of pathomechanisms and treatment strategies. Indeed, her animal model mimics human dystonia by combining a known genetic dystonia background with a dystonic phenotype. Dr Knorr has been a pioneer in basic research in dystonia. Indeed, no animal model of DYT-TOR1A dystonia existed that reflected every aspect of the disease pathology. Either the DYT-TOR1A models are genetically modified animals without showing a dystonic phenotype, or the animals show a dystonic phenotype without a genetic background.
The Basal Ganglia Club session was concluded by video cases chosen through an application and selection process in collaboration with the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society – European Section. Dr Luca Pollini from Italy, Dr Cecylia Rajczewska-Oleszkiewicz from Poland, Dr Iva Stankovic Tutus from Serbia, and Dr Gonzalo Olmedo Saura from Spain were the selected speakers of the video session part of this edition of the Basal Ganglia Club. They presented video cases on complex movements disorders giving a wide overview of the pathway from the clinical presentation to the diagnosis and management in clinical practice.
